750mph future-proofs with Fairlight and Dolby Atmos

London-based post house 750mph has completed the expansion and upgrade of its audio facilities around Fairlight’s EVO modular console and 3D Audio Workspace (3DAW) platform, including a new state-of-the-art Dolby Atmos-certified audio suite.

750mph now occupies around 10,000 square feet of studio space and is equipped with nine EVO consoles as well as Fairlight’s Master Control (XCS) Panel, running ICAN user programmed macro functionality, in the facilities’ transfer bay. Video playback across the post house’s eight audio suites relies on Fairlight parent company Blackmagic Design’s UltraStudio Extreme capture and playback hardware.

“The audio editing is exceptional,” revealed 750mph’s creative partner, Sam Ashwell. “The actual, physical editing of audio when working on the EVO console is a remarkably tactile experience. You essentially just use button shortcuts and a jog to manipulate the sound, so it’s incredibly quick.”

Fairlight’s 3DAW has been a key element of the workflow upgrades, allowing 750mph to extend its current audio production tools and support three-dimensional sound. “It is about making the sound more flexible," Ashwell continued. "With 3DAW you can literally make things fly across the ceiling as there are more surrounds to work with.”

3DAW offers a suite of tools to build immersive soundscapes, including a 3D panner to position sound objects in the room, and Spaceview, which provides a clear view of each object’s spatial location and level contribution at all times.

When mixing sound for cinema, there is specific processing to support up to 64 discrete speaker outputs, catering for different room sizes and speaker counts. Another feature is AirPan, a control feature that allows users to simply reach out in space and place sounds where they want them. By just moving their fingers in the air, sound designers can pan, rotate, tilt and spread sound in space.

“It is an entirely new, immersive offering 360° sound, but you need a lot of audio flying around for all the different objects,” added 750mph MD Ben Mason. “We’ve already had numerous requests for Dolby Atmos films, despite there not being too many cinemas equipped for it just yet. However, we believe it will become more and more popular, so we’re future-proofing.”

http://www.blackmagicdesign.com

http://www.fairlightau.com